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Contribution of specific dietary factors to CHD in US females
1Exponent, Washington, DC 20036, USA. ntran@exponent.com
Objective:
To estimate dietary cholesterol contribution to CHD risk among US females, relative to other dietary risk factors.
Design:
A risk apportionment model was applied to apportion CHD risk shares among the lifestyle and dietary risk factors.
Setting:
The model was implemented using relative risks from the Nurses' Health Study and data on CHD risk factors and consumption from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002.
Subjects:
US females aged 25 years or older.
Results:
On average, poor diet contributes 20 % of the CHD risk relative to obesity, inactivity and smoking, of which trans fat intake contributes 2.9 %, dietary cholesterol 1.5 % and 16 % is due to low consumption of nutrients, i.e. MUFA (1.5 %), PUFA (1.7 %), marine n-3 fatty acids (2.7 %), alpha-linolenic acid (1.1 %), dietary fibre (2.4 %), vitamin B6 (4.1 %), vitamin C (0.5 %) and folate (1.8 %).
Conclusions:
Reducing trans fat and dietary cholesterol intakes could lead to CHD reduction, but greater risk reduction may be achieved by improving intakes of heart-healthy nutrients currently deficient in US females' diets. Total diet consideration is essential in any CHD risk reduction strategy.
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